The second day of the partial shutdown of the federal government continued on Wednesday, meaning federal employees like James Horn don’t know when they will be able to return to work and earn a day’s pay.

Horn, 58, of Valinda, is a military technician at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. He and about 60 of his colleagues spend their weekdays tending to trucks and the other vehicles Army reservists use for drills on the weekends. But after the government went into shutdown mode on Tuesday, Horn and his co-workers are on an indefinite furlough.

“That’s where it gets people concerned, and that’s the unknown,” Horn said.

Horn, who is president of the National Association of Government Workers that represents technicians at Los Alamitos and is himself an Army reservist, was also on a federal payroll during the 1995-96 government shutdown. For government employees, the previous shutdown amounted to something like a paid vacation, Horn said, since the government reinstated workers’ missed pay.

This time around, however, he does not know if that will be the case.

“It’s a mystery,” Horn said. “The federal unions that represent us will be fighting with Congress to get that money reinstated to us.”

An estimated 800,000 government employees were furloughed as of Tuesday, when the shutdown went into effect after Congress failed to agree on legislation that would pay for the full range of federal operations. The government shutdown has yet to produce an easily defined economic impact, but Los Angeles-based economists said the inability of government leaders to set fiscal policy makes it difficult for business leaders to have the confidence needed to grow their companies.

“The ongoing diet of uncertainty that’s created by government action, or inaction, doesn’t do any good for the local economy,” said Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

In the context of recent history, the current shutdown follows the 2011 debt ceiling impasse that had national commentators wondering if the United States would default on its debts. Earlier this year, Congress’ failure to make a deal on spending policy led to sequestration, a broad-based curtailment of federal spending that largely went into effect even though Republicans and Democrats said they agreed that spending reductions were enacted in a way that was not smart policy.

The immediate cause of the current shutdown can be traced to the attempts of more conservative Republicans in Congress to leverage debate over spending policy into a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that households obtain health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Senate Democrats and President Obama have refused to entertain the idea, and instead demand the Republican-controlled House of Representatives vote on a bill that would fund the government in full.

As of Wednesday evening, a deal to end the shutdown was elusive, and Congress faces another fight over the debt ceiling later this month.

Economist Christopher Thornberg of Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics said the current situation may give some feelings that can be expressed as “My God, we’re being ruled by morons,” but said two days of a shutdown is not enough time to assess or even expect a broad economic impact.

“It depends on how long it goes. If it goes two to three weeks, it’s business delayed, not business canceled,” he said.

Businesses who rely on federal services for information or approvals face at least short-term problems due to the shutdown, Kleinhenz said. For example, he and his colleagues do not know if the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the employment data that it typically releases on the first Friday of every month.

At Q Trade Specialty Teas & Herbs, a Cerritos firm that blends and distributes tea products, company president Manjiv Jayakumar said officials have notified his firm that agriculture inspections of imported goods may be delayed.

“The shutdown, maybe it has a minimal impact right now, one or two days. But if it persists, it would have a very significant impact,” Jayakumar said.

Similarly, aircraft manufacturer and defense contractor Boeing issued a statement reporting that normal production schedules can be maintained during a short-term shutdown.

The shutdown also forces the closure of national parks, which is causing problems for tourism, a Mojave Desert innkeeper said.

Joshua Tree National Park closed Tuesday, and the nearby 29 Palms Inn is getting fewer reservations, said Liz Schickler, assistant general manager for the inn.

“That’s the main reason people come and stay here. We are one of the closest places people can stay and get into the park. Tourism is a huge thing for our community,” she said.

There have not been any cancellations, but guests have been calling to inquire about the cancellation policy and to confirm the park’s closure.

Schickler said park rangers informed them that guests are not allowed to park at the entrance and walk into the park.

“We’ve had to try and find other desert activities or places that they can go that aren’t part of the park or a federal program,” she said.

Staff writer Sandra Emerson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Andrew Edwards is part of the Southern California News Group's business team and focuses on housing stories for the Inland Empire. He's based at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and has also worked for publications including the Long Beach Press-Telegram and The San Bernardino Sun. He graduated from UCLA in 2003 after studying political science and history.